Well—he could go back to the conference now, but he would have to be doubly careful from now on. He couldn’t make daily trips to Olympus. His reaction had killed that plan. Alexander would be suspicious now—and unusual actions would crystallize suspicion to certainty. Now he needed a reason to be in that area. And then he grinned. He had a reason—a good one—one that would fit in with Alexander’s plans and his own. The only problem would be to make Alexander buy it—and that might be difficult. He’d have to work carefully—but with normal luck he could put the idea across. He crossed his fingers as he trudged back up the path to Alexandria.
The conference dragged on. Unlike most meetings, this one accomplished things—which was a tribute to Alexander’s ability to keep the subject in hand. Details of the expansion program presented by Alexander were rapidly reduced to workable plans. They involved some rearrangement of existing facilities, and the construction of others. But the obvious snags were rapidly disposed of, and the whole revamped operation was outlined on paper in surprisingly few hours. A deadline date was set, construction was authorized, and in the morning the first steps in the practical implementation of the new program would be taken.
“Well, that’s that,” Alexander said with a sigh. “I think this calls for a drink.”
“There’s one more thing,” Kennon said. “I know it isn’t much, but Jordan’s remark started me thinking.”
“What remark?” Jordan asked.
“The one you made at the beginning about Phoebe possibly being like the Olympus Station. I’ve often wondered why that particular location has been so difficult to operate. Sure, I know the accepted explanation, but I think we should learn why it works and how to break a tabu. If we don’t, we might be in for trouble.”
“That’s a good thought,” Alexander said. “I tried to find out once, but all I could discover was that it was tabu. The Lani simply didn’t like it. And despite the fact that I can read minds, I didn’t learn any more than that. There’s a certain sex-linkage to telepathy, as you probably know.”
Kennon nodded.
“All I could discover was that their dislike of Olympus was a basic emotion rather than reasoned thought. They were nervous, irritable, disobedient, and uncooperative while they were there—and even they didn’t know why. It was merely tabu. We even tried youngsters—but the attitude was the same. I’d like to know more about that basic emotion.”
“We should understand it,” Kennon agreed. “If we transship a large number of Lani to a strange world, we should know their deepest motivations. We cannot take the chance that the transplant won’t take, with all the money you’re sinking into this project.”